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Image by Sandia Labs under a some rights reserved license

Projects: Wikispaces

Alternative Energies: How can Inuvik ensure that all residents have access to affordable heat and power?
Where does all the energy come from? We cannot create energy and yet we need to heat our homes, power our appliances, and run our machines. Our need for non-renewable energy has placed a strain on existing supplies. Furthermore, our need has a negative effect on the environment. Read section 3.4 of your textbook (pages 221-227) to understand our current dependence on fossil fuels and the solutions for sustainable development.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable and expensive in the north. What can you recommend to NWT elected officials as an alternative to fossil fuels? What can you tell the world about NWT energy sources?


Assignment Overview

Role: Alternative energy expert
Audience: Inuvik Town Council
Format: An informational webpage on an alternative energy source and a proposal to Inuvik Town Council
Topic: Alternative energy solution to Inuvik’s natural gas problem


1st Task: Read "Fuel solution has Inuvik Residents Struggling to Pay Bills"
Historically, Inuvik has used two natural gas wells to heat homes and provide power to appliances. However, one of the wells was contaminated with water and the other well has almost run out of natural gas.
Read the article: “Fuel solution has Inuvik Residents Struggling to pay bills”



2nd Task: Choose an establishing image in Flickr and define your topic
Between you and your partner decide who will do part A and who will do part B

Part A: Choose an establishing image
It has been said that a picture shows a thousand words. Images provide a powerful way to communicate an idea. To complete this task, choose an image from Flickr that helps to communicate your energy source.


Click here for instructions

Part B: Define your topic
To ensure that future readers of your webpage have a good understanding of your energy source provide a two links to definitions of your topic. Then provide a definition in your own words.

Click here for instructions


3rd Task: Learning from the experts
Today we will be hearing from an alternative energy source expert. Download the sheet "Guest speaker notes" so that you can create a record of what you learned today.
Guest speaker notes.docx


Sheena arctic energy alliance presentation
Sheena Adams from Arctic Energy Alliance presents wind, solar, and biomass energy sources in the North

Image by David Overall


4th Task: Creating your project page
By now you have an establishing picture and a definition of your energy source. Now is the time to start designing and creating the content for your project page. Remember that you are becoming an expert in your energy source and your role is to inform the world about your energy source and how it relates to the North.

Sign in and start discussing the scope of the project with your partner.

At a minimum your project page should include:
    1. Background information on your energy source (what is it, how does it work)
      • include your establishing image
      • include your definition
    2. “Did you know?” section
    3. Benefits - all the factors that favour the development of the technology in the North (e.g. is the technology cheap? Can it be used in a northern climate? Is it easy for people to use?)
    4. Costs - all the factors that weigh against the technology (e.g. is the technology expensive? Can it be used in a northern climate? Is it hard for people to use?)
    5. Bibliography

Optional items for your page (here are some suggested items you may want to include. Let your creativity flow)
    1. A YouTube video (here are the instructions for inserting a YouTube video)
    2. Links to resources (other websites)
    3. Careers related to this energy source
    4. Interview with an expert
    5. Interview with an Elder

Berkeley Team Producing Energy from Ocean Waves By UC Berkeley Campus Life under a Some Right Reserved License



An interesting example of a cost-benefit analysis
Here is a cost-benefit analysis of wind turbines. There are some factors you may want to consider while researching costs and benefits of your energy source? For example, does your energy source cause concern for wildlife?



5th Task: What does an excellent project look like?
How will you know if you have created an excellent wiki page on your energy source? We need to create a scoring tool that lists the criteria for "what counts" for your project. Today's task is to work together with the teacher and with your partner to create a rubric that will be used to assess your proficiency in describing and presenting your energy source.
In order to complete this task we will:
1. Recall the project goal
2. Look at examples of student wikis to define characteristics of good wikis
3. Review the project learning outcomes
4. Describe the best levels of quality work
5. Generate two criteria to be used with three teacher defined criteria

PLEASE OPEN THE LINK THAT MATCHES YOUR ENERGY SOURCE
Geothermal
Pellet
Wind
Water
Solar

6th Task: Writing a proposal
Now that you have created detailed wiki pages for your energy source, it is time to evaluate each source. Your task is to explore all the energy sources and decide which alternative energy source has the most potential in the North. Write a proposal to the Town of Inuvik or to the Town Council in your community.

Here are two samples of proposals:
Written Proposal
Video

7th Task: Writing a proposal
Post your proposal to the proposal page by clicking on the tab on the right hand side Proposals and recommendations to NWT elected officials for alternatives to fossil fuel.
Click the edit button at the top of the page and paste your proposal into the page.
When you are done, click save.